


Resurgens

by ancarett



Category: Persuasion - Jane Austen
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Texting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-18
Updated: 2014-12-18
Packaged: 2018-03-02 02:42:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,479
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2796707
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ancarett/pseuds/ancarett
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>We stumble, we fall, we lose our way. And then, we rise again.</p><p>Anne and Frederick, in modern times.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Resurgens

**Author's Note:**

  * For [acalmingcupoftea](https://archiveofourown.org/users/acalmingcupoftea/gifts).



_She had been forced into prudence in her youth, she had learned romance as she grew older. -- Jane Austen_

~~~

"I suppose we have room for you on the sofa in the boy's playroom," Mary said doubtfully as Anne hauled her suitcase into the toy-strewn foyer of the Musgrove's house. "I keep telling Charles we need a bigger place but he never listens."

Anne tried not to listen either as she leveraged the decrepit bag against the wall in order to accept her sister's perfunctory hug. "Any port in a storm," Anne said. "Since Kellynch is let to tenants so that we don't fall deeper into debt, I'm stuck until father and Elizabeth settle on a place in Bath. If I even want to join them there, that is."

Mary appeared amazed at her older sister's hesitation. "Who wouldn't? I'd be there in a minute, London even sooner, if Charles ever had the sense to leave Uppercross. But at least I'll always have you around to help. It's just, well, not here for long, okay? This place is too small for four, let alone a guest!"

As Anne manoeuvred her suitcase down the stairs to the basement playroom, she felt, hardly for the first time, a wave of regret over her long-ago choice to stay in Somerset, captive to her ungrateful family's needs.

***  
 _SS: Do I have to talk you down off the ledge?_

AE: Don't be silly. I'm just maudlin, that's all.

_SS: Maudlin, there's a good word. Mad Maudlin goes on dirty toes but at least she had her fun._

AE: I had fun and I haven't had to be locked up, so I think I'm one over on her, TYVM.

_SS: I don't think you've had fun since university, buried away there in the wilds with your awful familyand look where it's gotten you._

Anne looked around the dank-smelling and cramped basement playroom that she was lucky to call home for however long Mary and Charles tolerated her presence. Sir Walter's sudden agreement to lease the family home to well-to-do strangers with a taste for gracious country living had been a boon for the family finances. The sudden decision had left Anne in the lurch. She'd done all of the estate work in return for a roof over her head. Now she didn't even have that. Maybe Sarah, her old university flatmate, was right. Anne reached down for her phone and typed back.

AE: Okay, you win. I've had no fun since the Stone Age and you won't believe what else has turned up. Or who.

Anne sent the provocative message and stared at her tiny phone screen expectantly. The responses came back almost instantly.

_SS: ???_

_SS: Who?_

_SS:. I have to be up before dawn to open the shop but I'll storm across the countryside to wring it out of you if I have to. Wretch!_

Anne muffled a snort that she wasn't certain was humour so much as hysteria and tapped out the details.

AE: It's Frederick.

_SS: FFS There? When? How?_

AE: At Kellynch, actually. His sister moved in and he's there with her. Haven't seen him yet.

_SS: Do you want to?_

Anne tapped the phone against her chin at that question. Trust her oldest, dearest friend to ask the most difficult question. But finally, mindful of the impatience Sara must be experiencing in her decrepit studio above the coffee shop in Bath, Anne answered as truthfully as she could.

AE: I'm absolutely petrified at the thought so I suppose I really do want to see him again.

_SS: :-S_

AE: IKR. He's probably already gone, anyway, so there's that. Stupid really.

_SS: Noooooo, just sad for you and him. You should've never called it off. Stupid Professor Russell!_

AE: Let's not start that up again. It's late. Tired. Talk soon?

_SS: KK *hugs*_

***

"You'll have to come along. Charles' mother specifically asked and you know how she gets," Mary observed as she smoothed her hair and then smiled at her elegant appearance in the mirror.

Anne doubtfully peered over Mary's shoulder at her own reflection The dark circles under her eyes were testament to a night spent on the lumpy playroom sofa that was interrupted all too early by two boisterous nephews ready to play with Auntie Anne. She'd spent most of the day traipsing around Uppercross, applying for jobs and registering at the employment agency. Unsurprisingly there wasn't much call for an out-of-work and uncredited estate manager so she'd come back to her younger sister's house tired and discouraged. Now she was apparently to head right back out the door to a family party.

"Don't you have anything better to wear than that old jumper? It's impossible to tell if it's blue or grey, it's so faded. Oh, never mind, it's time to leave. Boys? Make some room in the back for Auntie Anne. It'll be a squeeze. Good thing you're so small." With that, Mary led the way to the waiting sedan followed by Charles, the boys and a flagging Anne.

***

AE: OMG, it got worse.

_SS: How so? Also, sorry!_

AE: I saw him. It was horrid and awkward and I'm sure that he feels lucky to have escaped me all those years ago.

Anne brushed away a tear that threatened to spill over her lashes. The boys were piled on top of her on the sofa, watching a DVD as a treat before a late bedtime and likely oblivious to their blubbering aunt but, still, she ought not draw their attention.

Her phone flashed, signalling Sarah's response.

_SS: He's an ARSE if that's the case. What really happened?_

AE: Went to dinner with Mary's inlaws. People from Kellynch also guests. Horrible. I don't think he recognized me at first but when he did? Ugh.

_SS: Awful! Did anyone say anything?_

AE: Thankfully, no. But overheard him later say I was so changed, he didn't recognize me. :-(

_SS: I can still come over and beat him up for you._

Anne stifled a watery chuckle at that promise from her frail friend who, to be honest, struggled to manage two carafes of coffee.

AE: No you can't but thanks. Remember he's a marine commando now, a major. Looks like it, too, now. Bigger. Stern. Fierce. Except for Louisa, Charles' sister. He smiled for her.

_SS: Fuckwit. That's settled. I will come down and beat him up for you._

AE: No, don't. He'll probably be gone in a week. Man of action and all that. Nothing for anyone like that in Uppercross. Bedtime now. Talk soon.

As young Charles and Walter shrieked with laughter at the cartoon characters' antics, Anne powered down her phone before Sarah could respond. She whiled away the half hour until the boy's obscenely late bedtime by staring unseeingly at the blaring box, thinking back on how the gentle boy she'd known could have become the hard man she'd met again this evening.

***

When Anne turned her phone on the next morning there were seventeen increasingly irate messages and two vaguely threatening emails. She sent a very cowardly text telling Sarah not to worry and proceeded to mostly ignore or downplay the buzzing and chirping of her phone for the next few days filled with attending to Mary and the boys whenever she wasn't trying and failing to get a job.

In the evenings, Anne was increasingly roped into the Musgrove family's expansive welcome. The older Musgroves expressed genuine interest in Anne's job search, offering her some leads and much encouragement, while Louisa and Henrietta came close to talking Anne's ears off, happy for someone who might understand their frustration with Mary's demanding ways and might agree with their swooning assessment of the handsome Major Wentworth.

Anne felt old and worn next to the pair of young women. She might have been more philosophical about that, had it not been for Frederick Wentworth's frequent appearances at these Musgrove 'family events'. She sensed his gaze frequently turning her way and knew that she must come off the worse by comparison with the Musgrove girls. Certainly, he had said as much to Louisa when they went out for an afternoon walk to the village the other day. Louisa heartily defended Anne as the model of selflessness and kindness, praise which Anne appreciated but which made her feel even more decrepit and invisible. When Frederick quietly engineered her a ride back from the village in the back of his sister and brother-in-law's sedan, it felt more like courtesy to a old auntie than care for the woman he had once professed to love more than life itself.

Anne certainly hadn't shared that thought with Sarah, working double shifts at her coffee shop back in Bath. She tried to keep her texts impersonal and cheerful, in spite of the distinct lack of upbeat news beyond the fact that Elizabeth and Sir Walter might have settled on a flat.

On Thursday morning, the Musgroves threw Anne's already confused existence into even greater disarray. While Mary was busy upstairs, Anne stole a few minutes to ring Sarah.

"Smith's Fine Coffees. What can I brew for you?"

"It's me: Anne."

Anne listened to the din of the shop behind Sarah. "Ohhhhhhh," Sarah packed a wealth of meaning into the exhalation, ranging from 'I'd kill you now for leaving me hanging so long' to 'I'm slammed with customers and can't talk long'.

Anne forged on quickly ahead. "Look, I know that you're busy. I just wanted to phone to apologize for cutting things off the other night and, well, we probably won't be able to talk for a few more days it seems."

Sarah uh-hummed and said thank you to a customer before getting back to Anne, "Thanks and certainly, but what else?" A further 'What else are you holding out on me?' was clearly what was meant by the last bit.

"Because I'm going to spend the bank holiday weekend with Frederick - and with all of my sister's family or almost," Anne hastened to add in case Sarah got the wrong idea, "at the Royal Marine Commando Training Centre in Devon There's some public event and I'm getting dragged along."

Sarah's exhalation was fraught with meaning. "All right. I'll look forward to hearing from you then."

Anne rang off, biting her fingernails as she contemplated the very much unwanted outing that lay ahead. Fortunately, she had little to pack besides the content of her ancient suitcase. Before she could zip it up, she heard Mary's querulous call. "Anne, can't you help with the boys some more while I get everything ready?"

Anne called Walter down from his attempt to climb the shelves in his bedroom and surveyed all the toys that belonged there now occupying the floor. "Let's pack up your favourite toys to take to your grandparents' house, shall we?"

She tried very hard not to think about the outing to Devon and how Frederick was likely to spend the entire time entranced by the young, vivacious and totally smitten Louisa Musgrove.

***

AE: Weirdest thing happened

_SS: Don't tease. Tell me! More with Frederick?_

AE: No. Just here at the hotel. Ran into someone. I swear it's my cousin William that we haven't seen forever.

_SS: Weird, maybe. Not weirdest ever. Got me all excited for nothing._

AE: Sorry. Just surprised. Otherwise, it was dull. My life is a boring wasteland where a possible cousin sighting counts as excitement.

_SS: Don't apologize. You always apologize. Be a bitch to me. Tell me to sod off. Better yet, tell Frederick to sod off or your sister, even._

Anne giggled as she texted a mock-indignant response. The friends might have chatted for a while longer, but Louisa and Henrietta tumbled into the room they were all sharing. "It's time to head out for dinner, are you ready, Anne?"

With a sigh, she pocketed her phone and followed in their wake.

***

"Frederick, do you see me? Frederick?" Louisa was posing by another element on the assault course while another group of sightseers walked ahead.

Mary fanned her face with the booklet they'd been handed on entry earlier that day to the training school's Open House event. "Can't we be done?" Charles took the booklet and began to fan her more vigorously, much to Mary's relief, but they both seemed ready to take a break from touring in the stifling heat.

Anne inwardly agreed that a break from Louisa's frenetic pace would be welcome even though it surprised her to realize how much she enjoyed the visit so far. Henrietta had escaped earlier to hang out under some trees with a couple of kids her age, just off a gap year. Louisa, however, had sought to monopolize her officer's attention which he, quite obviously, wanted to visit with his fellow officers and long-time friends, Harville and Benwick. The two other men and Harville's cheery wife, Lucy, had been introduced to the Musgrove party that morning at the hotel. Major Benwick relied on a cane to help him walk - visible scars on his left arm and cheek were also signs that the recent wars had not been without cost. Now the injured commando made his way slowly across the green. His friends attempted not to appear as if they were waiting on him, a task made somewhat easier by Louisa's frequent calls for attention and Mary's grumbling.

Anne fell in step with James Benwick. "Mind if I join you?"

"I don't mind," he said, eyeing Anne thoughtfully, "but you're aware that I'll take quite a long time to get me from here to there."

Anne smiled easily as she matched his slow pace. "It's the journey, not the destination, that interests me, major."

The dark and muscular man's melancholy expression broke briefly into a grin at her comment. The two of them proceeded to enjoy a free-wheeling discussion of common interests and disparate opinions, punctuated with several breaks to let him rest his weakened leg. As they sat on the edge of the temporary viewing stands, crowds swirling around them, he tapped his injured limb with his cane. "This doesn't bother you?"

"Why should it?" Anne asked, genuinely puzzled. "It was honourably earned. The only part that bothers me is to see someone in pain."

James looked off into the distance. "Pain's not the problem so much as permanent disability. I'm invaliding out. It's a lot to get my head around."

"I expect so," Anne said. "But you have good friends, don't you?"

"The best," he agreed.

"The best what?" They turned to see the jovial faces of Major Harville and his petite wife, with Frederick's more sombre expression a few steps behind.

"The best time on the course when I was in training, you prat," Benwick quickly said, and the three men were instantly drawn into a spirited debate over who'd done the best.

"Frederick!" Louisa's distant voice penetrated the wall of conversation surrounding the small group and all of them looked up to see a crowd of people clustered below the vertical wall where sturdy ropes invited climbers to pull themselves to the top of the daunting obstacle before leaping off the far side. Louisa Musgrove swayed dizzily at the top, holding onto a towering support with one hand while she waved widely with the other.

Frederick quickly sprinted off as Louisa shouted again from on top of the vertical wall. "Louisa, be careful."

Charles jogged after his sister at a slower pace, leaving Mary to glower at Anne. "I thought this would be much more amusing. But it's hot and tedious and awful. The only interesting thing was seeing our cousin, although he checked out of the hotel before we could say anything. Isn't that strange?"

She glared across the training course where Charles and Frederick conferred with a truculent Louisa still perched atop the climbing wall. "We've been here _forever_. Why won't Louisa come down already?"

Anne turned to Mary, ready to answer, when a shriek escaped the younger woman's lips. Harville was on his feet, sprinting across the grass and the rest of their party stumbled along as the small crowd scattered one way or the other.

Anne somehow sprinted past the rest of the women to find herself kneeling beside Louisa's prone figure, breathing but unresponsive.

"She jumped, telling me to catch her, but tangled on a rope and -" Frederick ground out as he watched the young woman's pathetically still form.

"We need to get help for her. Has someone rung 999?" Anne reached for her phone in her jeans pocket but Major Harville beat her to it with his device.

His wife turned to Major Benwick, who had followed as fast as he could and now levered himself slowly down to the ground beside Anne. "You've done medical training, right?"

He nodded and pulled off his jacket. "Let's cover her, keep her warm until the medics arrive. Should be some here on site. Frederick, can you check?"

With that, he took charge and Anne shifted towards Louisa's head where she worked to push back the crowds that loomed closer. Charles held a shocked, sobbing Henrietta while Mary bit at her knuckles.

Anne stood up and laid a hand on Frederick's forearm to draw his attention away from Louisa and James. "Someone's going to have to phone the Musgroves."

His eyes closing in seeming pain for a moment, Frederick nodded. "I'd best do that. Let's wait until we know where she's going. They'll want to take her at least for an assessment. Do you have their number?"

Anne read out their number for him. Soon, brisk voices intervened. The school medics were first on the scene, shooing aside the curious onlookers to take over from Major Benwick. One of them spoke with Major Harville who began to clear a path for the ambulance already rolling into view.

"Come along," Anne said to Mary and her in-laws. "They'll be taking her to the hospital. Give me the keys, Charles, you're in no condition to drive. We'll ask the staff here for directions and head off, straight away."

Numbly, he did as he was asked and Anne watched as Frederick carefully walked along side the attendants shuttling Louisa's quiet form towards their vehicle. Clearly, he was devastated by her fall and wracked with guilt. _It must be love,_ an inner voice observed. Anne shepherded the three Musgroves towards the car park and tried to let go those thoughts about Frederick.

***

Several hours later, Anne found herself in Frederick's Range Rover, racing purposefully down the road towards Uppercross. Sunset shades were still colouring the western horizon as they moved steadily northwards. "Thank you again," Frederick said.

"It's nothing," Anne replied, as she had more than once. "I'm only glad that Louisa's prognosis is so good."

"As we all are," Frederick agreed, his grip shifting upon the steering wheel as his eyes never left the roadway rolling out in front of him. "Nevertheless, I thank you for taking charge so well there."

Anne smiled slightly. "It really wasn't much and once your friend James came over, I knew she was in good hands."

Frederick jerked his head slightly sideways, his eyes meeting hers for only an instant. "No, that's not what I meant although he is the best of men, yes. But thank you for helping with your sister's family and coming with me so that I can drive Louisa's parents over."

Anne let her gaze dropped to her quietly clasped hands resting in her lap. "Again, it was nothing. This is my family, even if only by my sister's marriage. I would do anything for them."

Frederick's harsh laugh startled her. "Believe me, I'm well aware of how much you will do for your family or those whose judgment you value."

At that, Anne flushed but kept her eyes firmly fixed away from the man beside her in the swiftly speeding SUV already coming to the outskirts of Uppercross. Clearly Frederick had neither forgiven nor forgotten her ending their engagement all those years ago.

To be honest, sometimes, neither had she.

***

AE: Worst bank holiday ever and not how you'd expect

_SS: Did Frederick do something horrid?_

AE: No, actually. He was everything decent. There was an accident in Devon. Louisa's in the hospital recovering from a bad fall.

_SS: Sounds messy. She going to be okay?_

AE: Thankfully. I'm watching the kids here in Uppercross until she's released tomorrow from the hospital. Frederick drove me back.

_SS: I suspect VOLUMES. You will have to spill soon._

Anne's lips twitched at her friend's raillery.

AE: Sooner than you think. My father and sister have a place in Bath. Guess who's coming to town?

_SS: Finally! Come for coffee._

AE: As soon as I've unpacked.

***

It took longer than that. A day to settle all the Musgroves back in at home, along with those who followed: Frederick's SUV and Charles sedan groaned with additional passengers. Major Benwick settled in at Kellynch with the Crofts while the Musgroves hovered over Louisa back at their home. Anne gratefully accepted Charles' offer to drive her up to Bath. Once he'd deposited her at Camden Place, Anne dutifully listened to her father and sister praise each other and the city's elegance but with only half an ear until Elizabeth mentioned their cousin.

"You're so fortunate, Anne, as our cousin, William, who, did you know?, runs the most prestigious property business here in Bath, and our new friends the Dalrymples, are joining us tonight for dinner. And Sally Clay, of course. She's been such a help for us settling into town life. I don't know why we waited so long! I only hope you have something better than that to wear, though," Elizabeth tsked dismissively at the jumper and denim that Anne wore as she perched carefully on the ultra-modern chair that was the only type of seating in the Elliot's stylish flat.

Anne felt the pinch of a frown settle between her eyes. "I'm sorry, but I'd already made other plans."

"Well change them," her father advised. "This is family and family is important!"

"That may be," Anne replied softly, massaging at the seeming-permanent ache settling in her forehead. "But as Elizabeth said, I should have something good to wear, which I sadly do not. Better to meet my old roommate tonight at planned and perhaps I can shop for something more suitable to wear to meet your friends another day? I also thought to start a job hunt here since Uppercross had nothing."

Sir Walter grimaced briefly and then clearly thought better of the expression's wear on his complexion. Rising to consult the mirror, he preened briefly and then turned to Anne, disappointment evident although modulated enough not to mar his fine face. "You always were a strange child. Go on with you, then. I'll see you again when you're presentable."

With that, Anne made her escape to the laughable excuse for a third bedroom. A single bed, a small dresser and chair were all of the comforts of home she now enjoyed. She shrugged lightly as she unpacked her abused suitcase and shoved it under the bed. Pausing at the door to leave, she reached back for her toiletries bag to pull out her comb, eyeliner and lip gloss.

"New place, new me," Anne murmured as she glanced at her reflection, not much changed but a little brighter and more defined. With a light laugh, she dropped the cosmetics onto the bed and hurried down the hall, eager to be away before her family's guests arrived.

***

_SS: What a great time! Better not be two years before you come by again._

AE: Don't worry. Good news, too. Russell has hired me to do some number crunching for her research.

_SS: Color me unexcited. Russell is a bully._

AE: Let's agree to disagree. Just be happy I have a paycheque.

_SS: That must feel strange since I'm sure Sir Walter never paid you._

AE: Meow. Just for that, I won't bring William by to meet you.

_SS: Somehow I'll survive. Busy. Talk later._

Anne stared quizzically at her mobile screen. Sarah had been uncharacteristically cranky in this text exchange. Sure, just as with Frederick, she'd always considered Professor Russell, Anne's old university mentor, to be an outsized influence on Anne's life. Maybe that was all: old feelings. With a shrug, she slipped her phone into her purse and headed out into the streets of Bath.

***

"Let me tell you about my first big sale," William said as he twitched his cuffs into perfect order while Sir Walter posed artfully in front of the polished marble mantle that dominated the front room of their city flat. 

Anne widened her eyes in simulated interest while Elizabeth brayed in laughter. "This is such a _funny story_ , Anne," she said. "You won't believe it."

William flashed his brilliantly white teeth in a practised smile at her praise before launching into a story about his real estate endeavours that involved an American tech mogul who wanted his own "little Camelot" complete with land for a helipad and skateboard park. Elizabeth and her father laughed at his quips but Anne's response was only tepid. As Elizabeth excused herself to freshen up before their dinner out, William sidled over beside Anne. "Was I boring you?"

"Oh no," Anne denied instinctively. At his twinkling smile, she relaxed slightly. "All right, I wasn't paying close attention. I'm a bit distracted, that's all, with my work for Professor Russell and hoping to find some sort of full time job."

Her cousin's brows arched as he tilted his head in consideration. "I didn't realize you were seriously looking for work. Why not come work for me?"

Anne started to chuckle and then realized that William was serious. "Oh, no. I'm not qualified for anything like you do, especially not personality-wise. Actually, I'm hoping to move back to Uppercross or nearby. Bath's a little too bustling for my taste."

Elizabeth emerged from the back hallway, patting her hair carefully. "Anne is hopeless, William, you should realize that by now. Our country mouse! Look at that dress. Did you get it at H&M? You're hopeless but it's too late to do anything. Come along, father, we don't want to be late."

Self-consciously, Anne swept her palms down the blue jersey fabric of the dress that had, as Elizabeth suspected, come from the chain store. "Is it that bad?" she asked.

William shook his head indulgently and whispered, "Don't listen to her. It's perfect."

He straightened swiftly, "Ah, Sir Walter, lead the way and let us each take a beautiful Elliot lady on our arm."

Anne noticed that he subtly manoeuvred himself so that Elizabeth was escorted by the older man, leaving Anne free for William's claim. She wasn't at all sure that she appreciated that result no matter how affable her cousin appeared to be towards all of his once-overlooked relations.

***

AE: Do you need a barista?

_SS: No, why? You finally ready to leave the most dysfunctional family in the UK?_

AE: Haha. No, Russell has no more work for me. William keeps hinting I can work for him but no.

_SS: Really? You're turning down an easy office job with him? Are you sure?_

AE: Positive.

_SS: Good. Because word around town is that his business is in trouble and he has his eyes on Kellynch._

AE: Really? Why didn't you tell me?

_SS: Because I thought you were maybe interested in him or what he offered._

AE: Ew. No. I have standards, remember?

_SS: Good to know they still exist. So, what now?_

AE: Honestly, haven't got a clue. Let's see what happens next!

_SS: Now that really sounds like the Anne I remember!_

AE: I know. Finally!

***

Making her way through the mobs of tourists crowding the scenic streets of Bath, taking selfies with the gardens below as backdrop or window-shopping, Anne was startled to hear a familiar voice carol out her name.

"Mrs. Musgrove? What are you doing here?" Anne fell in step with the affable older couple after exchanging greetings.

"It's so exciting! Louisa's engaged. They're here in town today to pick out a ring and later I'm taking her shopping for a dress," Mrs. Musgrove dug around in her enormous purse to pull out a dogeared wedding planning magazine, folded open to a spread featuring a bride in a dress very much in the style Kate Middleton had worn in the royal wedding. "What do you think of this one?"

Anne opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out as she was struck by the image of Louisa in that dress, stepping out of a church door, radiant on Frederick's arm. She paused and tried again to say something, anything, for her eager audience.

"Anne? Don't you think it would be perfect for Louisa?" Mrs. Musgrove's tone shifted to doubt as Anne's pause obviously inspired concern.

With all her willpower at work, Anne finally managed to stammer out reassurances to the worried mother-of the-bride that, yes, the dress would be perfect for Louisa. With that, the older woman resumed her progress up the main street, weaving in and out of the crowd of shoppers and sightseers. Mrs. Musgrove launched into an extended explanation of how she and Louisa had come to settle on that style of dress as a perfect foil for a man in uniform because wasn't it just like the duchess when she married Prince William. Anne felt her heart sink lower and lower as the reality of Frederick's having moved on was driven home by the cheery stream of words. All the while her quieter husband ambled slowly behind the two, only occasionally interjecting into her story with a few corrections here or there to Mrs. Musgrove's descriptions of the wedding plans.

"Now dear," he interrupted, "you don't want to get too distracted. We're meeting our girl and her young man outside the jewellers in just ten minutes. I know you won't want to be late for the dress shop."

Mrs. Musgrove fluttered one hand excitedly. "Oh, is it already almost time? We must hurry, indeed. Come along with us, Anne. You haven't seen Louisa since her accident. I know she'll want to fill you in on everything!"

Anne attempted a protest but it was overridden, so she was propelled along. As they turned the corner, she steeled herself to look Frederick in the eye and wish him happy--

"James?" she squeaked as she looked into the dark, smiling eyes of a marine officer leaning lightly on a cane while Louisa clung to his other arm.

"Anne, fancy meeting you here," Louisa squealed, releasing Benwick to fling her arms around the older woman for a quick hug before backing off to stand with her left hand out in an awkward pose. "Look, look, look at the lovely ring my handsome James has given me."

On her hand a modest but elegant diamond sparkled from a traditional setting in a yellow gold band.

"Sweeting, let your mother see," her fiance indulgently chided. Obediently Louisa shifted her hand so that her mother could admire the ring while the two men stepped aside, clearly superfluous for now.

Anne joined the men as they them to one side of the crowded street. She was suddenly, relievedly, in charity with all of the world and smiled almost giddily at the two men. "I had no idea," she exclaimed to James Benwick, who chuckled lightly.

"That's what everyone tells me," he said, turning to stare in a worshipful way at Louisa's perfectly ordinary self. "I know it seems rather sudden but when she was recuperating, we spent hours together, talking. And, well, when you meet the perfect person, why ever wait?"

Anne's giddiness fled at that question because, of course, she had said something very much like that, once upon a time, before, with Frederick. "You're right, of course," she said with steady purpose. "Why ever would you?"

"Why ever would you what? Anne, would you do the pleasure of introducing me to your friends?" It was William Elliot with Elizabeth on his arm. The eldest Elliot sister was obviously unhappy at encountering the cluster of provincial relatives in her urban retreat but her cousin was all politeness.

"You must join us for the engagement party," Mr. Musgrove insisted. Elizabeth tried to demur at first but finally accepted. Anne thought it had something to do with the party's location. The Musgroves had booked it for the Royal Crescent Hotel tomorrow evening. Bath's five star hotel offered the Elliots a chance to see and be seen that Elizabeth couldn't bear to turn down. All smiles, Elizabeth accepted on her family's behalf.

As Louisa and her mother scurried off to the wedding dress shop, Anne deftly avoided William's offer of an escort home. "Thanks, but I think these gentlemen could use a local guide. Do you fancy Bath's finest cup of coffee, Mr. Musgrove? James?"

At their enthusiastic nods, Anne led the way to Smith's and attempted to tamp down on the hopeful surge of her heart. Louisa and Frederick were not together. Could that mean something more?

***

As she stepped into the restaurant where a small crowd eddied and ebbed, Anne saw many familiar faces. The Musgroves were out in full force, of course, but there were some others that she recognized from that brief and seemingly disastrous trip to Devon. "Major Harville!"

"Anne Elliot, if I don't mistake myself. But call me George, please," he asked. "I've lost Lucy here somewhere. She does love a party and Bath is a sight finer than anything we saw up in Scotland so I expect her to be getting her fill of excitement here while I'm getting my fill of the fine food."

Anne smiled slightly at his jovial manner. "I don't know if I'd call Bath exciting. It's a little overwhelming for this country girl."

"Sounds like it's time for you to strike out for greener pastures, no?" Major Harville asked.

"I think it is. The only problem," Anne added with a sigh, "is that I don't know precisely where those greener pastures are to be found. I would have thought Uppercross but there's not work to be had there."

The major nodded sagely. "And you don't want to be where you won't be useful, do you? Reminds me of Frederick, always wanting to be doing."

"Is that such a bad thing?" Frederick's voice over her shoulder made a flash of hot awareness run through Anne's body and sleeveless summer frock felt suddenly oppressive. Carefully, she pivoted slightly to meet Frederick's watchful gaze.

"Good to see you, Frederick," Anne managed, congratulating herself at the perfect evenness of her voice.

"See, she doesn't have any problem addressing you by your name," Harville grumbled. His dour expression brightened as his wife joined them, offering a small plate of savouries to her obviously hungry husband.

"Good to see you, Anne," Frederick said as the Harvilles moved along to speak to another couple. Anne and Frederick took no mind of their departure, their attention entirely focused on each other.

"I'm very happy for Louisa and Benwick," Anne said, as the fingers of her left hand pleated the soft green fabric of her skirt. "But it was quite a surprise."

Frederick nodded. "To all of us, but maybe less to those of us in and around Uppercross. James accompanied us back from the hospital once Louisa was given the all clear. He's been shamelessly freeloading on my sister and her husband. I thought it was just boredom or loneliness until the other week when it became clear he wasn't there to be with us, but to be with Louisa."

"And was anyone upset?" Anne asked. She watched carefully for Frederick's reaction to her carefully worded query.

"Not a soul. It was the best news I'd heard in quite a while, to be honest," Frederick admitted, an easy smile relaxing the lines of his face.

Anne's heart started to beat double time and she couldn't conceal the glow of happiness she exuded. "You could've knocked me over with a feather when I saw her with James and heard the news," Anne confessed.

Frederick regarded her thoughtfully, appearing ready to follow up on her comment when William Elliot sidled alongside his cousin. "Anne, my dear, you're late. Your father has been looking for you. I promised to deliver you, post haste. Come, come!" Deaf to Anne's stammered protests, William put a possessive hand on her elbow and Frederick, his face a sudden mask of stoicism, melted away. A little bit of Anne's heart disappeared with him.

***

AE: I want to crawl into a hole.

_SS: Then go to your room. Your father and sister have suites. You have a hole. No, seriously, why so sad?_

AE: William. He drove off Frederick just when I thought we had something going.

_SS: I know where I can bury a body. Want we should take care of that pretentious prat, once and for all?_

AE: Don't tempt me. He came along, all lord of the manor and Frederick left the party. No chance to explain.

_SS: That's horrid. But don't give up!_

AE: What can I do? Go back to Uppercross and stalk him? He won't stay with his sister forever. He's still in the service.

_SS: Better than nothing. Can you stay with Mary and Charles?_

AE: Not and stay sane. The boys waken at dawn and the guest bed is their playroom sofa.

_SS: Awful. What else?_

AE: I don't have a clue.

Anne continued to text with Sarah a while longer as she carefully folded her lovely dress that she'd donned with such hopes when she left for the party all those hours ago. It was going to be a long and restless night.

***

Unsurprisingly, both Elizabeth and Sir Walter had earlier begged off of the hotel garden get-together that next morning. The Musgroves and Major Benwick were eager to return to Uppercross to continue the rest of the wedding preparations while the Bath dressmaker worked on a rush order to alter one of their samples for the eager bride-to-be. The early hour put off the other Elliots: Sir Walter insisted on his need for a good night's sleep to maintain his youthful looks. Anne wished that she could borrow her father's excuse as her few hours of sketchy slumber had left her feeling even more distressed. But she nevertheless headed out into the postcard-perfect morning to meet up with the Musgroves and others from last night's party.

The mass of Musgroves appeared much less daunting in spread out across the lush greenery and cozy seating areas that the garden provided. Anne greeting the host and hostess with genuine pleasure and then turned to listen to Mary's complaints with only half an ear as she glanced around her for any sign of Frederick.

"Anne, I didn't think we'd see you again. Your sister said that your father would never follow a late night with an early morning," George Harville's teasing tones brought a smile to Anne's lips. Mary appeared less than impressed with his interruption but an urgent question from Louisa about wedding flowers drew her away.

In Mary's absence, Anne visibly relaxed. "Mary would rather follow our father's advice but all of the Musgroves are early birds, like myself. I couldn't lie in bed all morning long."

"Neither can any commando," the major advised. He turned a keen gaze over to his newly-engaged friend. "James appears to have found a good fit with this new family."

At the somewhat mournful tone of his voice, Anne paused. "I forgot. He was engaged to your sister, Fanny, who died in a car accident, wasn't he?"

George Harville nodded. "Two years ago next month. They were waiting until he was off deployment and things were safe, can you believe?" His eyes danced off across the grounds where the happy couple and Louisa's doting family presented such a sharp contrast to his own memory of loss.

"Sadly, I can. But it's good that he's found someone new, isn't it?" Anne asked. "Better to forge ahead than live only in dead memories and regrets." She knew that some of her own experience coloured her voice at that last.

George Harville appeared to hear that as well. He laughed: a dry bark that had little of humour and more of hurt in it. "It's just, he was so caught up in Fanny for so long and now, he doesn't even mention her. I wonder if he ever even loved her. I'd never forget Lucy, not if I lived to be a hundred and three and forgot my own name. Men, good men, are faithful to the end."

Anne felt a rush of compassion at his hurt but also annoyance. "And women are not?"

Harville leaned back slightly in his the garden chair, his shoulder brushing the foliage behind him. "Not as much as men, in my experience, as politically incorrect as that might be. Men will stick with you through thick and thin and do anything for the women they love. But, except for my Lucy and a few others, the women I meet are nowhere near as true blue."

"So will women," Anne insisted, her voice rising with annoyance. "Only we have to do it in more difficult circumstances than most men can ever imagine."

The major's interest was caught at the last. "How so? he demanded.

Anne leaned forward in her chair to fix his gaze with her own, serious and purposeful. "Men take risks knowing that women will take up the slack at home. But women? Ah, women give until they've nothing left for themselves. A man might love and lose someone and then work through his broken heart, as James has done. But a woman who has lost everything will cling to that lost hope until the end of everything. That's the difference."

Harville shook his head as he easily levered himself out of his seat and offered Anne a hand to rise. "I don't know that I can see it your way, but I do appreciate how strongly you feel this, Anne. Pity that it's time my Lucy and I head off or I'd love to talk more. But maybe another time?"

"Perhaps," she agreed cordially and made her farewells to these friends of Frederick's that she would likely only see in passing at the wedding, if that, as military men had to go where they were posted, and the Harvilles were returning to the brigade in Scotland.

"We'll say goodbye to you, too, Frederick," the major's voice rose slightly as he escorted his wife toward the hotel entrance.

Anne started and turned to look more closely at the bushes behind Harville's empty chair which, she now realized, only thinly separated them from a more secluded seating area from which Frederick's tall form emerged with a slip of paper in his hand that he pressed into hers before making his own goodbyes.

Unfolding it as he faded into the bright morning light, Anne saw it was just a scrawled number, presumably his. As Mary and Charles returned to claim her attention, she pocketed the number and attempted to keep her racing sense of hope in check.

***

AE: Frederick, is that you?

_FW: Anne. I didn't dare hope you'd text me but I had to do something when I heard you speak with George._

AE: Yes?

_FW: You must know that I have never stopped loving you. I was in agony for years after you left and yet I can't help but love you even more. I think you feel the same. Do you?_

Anne stared in shock at her mobile and slowly pondered those words while Mary and Charles dithered about this or that. She didn't pay any mind to the world around her, just the text upon her screen. Slowly, carefully, she typed out her reply. "I do."

With that sent, she looked up from her screen, past her various relatives and friends, to see a familiar figure framed at the garden's exit.

"Excuse me," Anne said to her sister and brother-in-law. "But I have some business to attend to." She slipped past them with never a look back and eagerly strode across the hotel's manicured garden to accept the proffered hand that reached out to engulf hers, drawing her down the passage and away from prying eyes.

"Anne," he pronounced with a careful reverence that caused her smile to widen impossibly.

"Frederick," she said. "My love. My only love."

And with that, he pulled her to him for a kiss, first reverent and then fervent. And when they finally drew apart, it was not a far distance because their hands remained entwined for quite some time and their hearts were never untangled again.


End file.
